How to Determine the Online Storage Space You Require?

With the changing technology and increased usage of the internet, most of us tend to conduct almost every single daily interaction of ours directly online, using our computers, laptops, tablets, or smartphones for work as well as play. Therefore, it becomes extremely essential that we have some kind of backup process in place in order to protect out crucial business and personal data against loss due to different types of disasters. As a consequence, you will then be encountering the challenge of having to choose between traditional storage methods like external hard drives and more modern storage technologies like online data storage. And after quite a number of researches, experts suggest that online data storage is the best solution for all your backup needs and all that matters is the online backup provider and the plans you select to meet your storage needs.

Popularity of Online Data Storage

All of us know that online data storage or backup is one of the most popular technologies used by individuals and business organizations alike, especially in recent years. But, why has it gained so much popularity lately? The answer to this query is quite straightforward and simple. Online data storage is a safe, cost effective, and efficient way to store and protect all your files or documents. In comparison with having to purchase a physical data storage device such as a USB stick or an external hard disk, you would be surprised to know that online data storage is very much competitive. And it turns out to be an absolutely practicable proposition, especially as the prices of bandwidth are found to decrease.

A major advantage you get to enjoy by storing your data online is that all your data will be stored in a remote location, preventing any loss to it even if any disaster strikes the primary location of the same. Also, most providers save multiple copies of your data at different data centers, making it even more redundant so you can retrieve a copy of your data even if another one is lost due to an unforeseen circumstance.

As more and more businesses and consumers are starting to opt for online data storage, the number of providers in the market is in increase. Once you perform enough research and comparisons between different providers and finally choose one to sign up with, it would now be time for you to determine the amount of storage space you would require to store all your data in the present and also in the future. Following are certain important points you should take into consideration when evaluating the amount of storage you need:

What will you actually store? The amount of storage space you need and the plan you should choose depends mainly on the type of data or files you would be storing on the online storage system. For instance, if you are a movie fanatic and wish to store your entire movies collection online, then a monthly plan that will allow you to store up to 10 GB worth files every month will never be sufficient for you, since a single bluray HD movie would usually occupy around 30 GB space. On the contrary, if you are choosing online data storage only to store your important work documents, which are usually in the formats of Word, Excel, PDF, PPT, etc., then a 10 GB monthly plan would be appropriate for you.

Features you expect from the provider: The second aspect to consider is the extra features you expect to receive from your online data storage service provider. Though most storage providers charge on a pay-as-you-use basis, there are also those that charge as low as $10 for unlimited usage of storage space. However, such providers would probably not offer other important features like mobile access, easy search options, automatic backups, file versioning, etc. Therefore, it is important that you read the fine print and make sure that the provider actually offers all the features claimed by it.

If you will be using the online storage system for business purposes, then you would be requiring file sharing feature as a part of your plan. In such cases, you should make sure that the provider allows for efficient and effortless file sharing between multiple users. Another important aspect to look for is the customer support. It is always better to choose a provider that offers 24/7 customer support, even if it costs a little extra money.

Expansion of storage: When you use an external hard drive to store all your important data, sometimes you may run out of space and will have to buy another drive for storing the additional files you generate. But, remember that an online data storage service is never like a hard drive. As mentioned before, most providers allow you to use unlimited storage space and charge you only for the amount of space you actually use, making it easier for you to expand or compress the data storage space as and when you require. Even if you have signed up for a limited storage space plan, you can always expand the storage space you need by just asking for it from your provider. Hence, be wise in choosing a provider that allows you to expand your storage space whenever needed.

Now that you have understood how to determine the amount of online data storage space you would need to store your data, it would be easy for you to choose a provider that offers you all the features you are looking for. Even if you are still not sure of the amount of space you would need, you can always choose a provider that will charge you on a pay-as-you-use basis.